After updating wireless drivers to 17.0.2.5 I can no longer connect to wireless networks after resuming from sleep in Windows 8.1 64-bit. Disabling and enabling the device allows me to connect again but I didn't have to do this before the driver update. Also I am still experiencing micro dropouts at less than two meters away from my Wifi-N router, this does not happen with my other laptop with Broadcom BCM 4321 which also uses Wifi-N.

I have downgraded to 17.0.0.34 and apparently the issue is gone but the dropouts persist. This adapter is really impossible to work with I am getting a median of 3 404 errors per minute and also very poor signal at distances where other Wi-Fi-G based devices and also my other laptop work perfectly.

My other laptop previously had an Intel 4965 AGN Wi-Fi-N adapter which caused constant BSODs and DPC spikes. Those issues were never fixed by Intel during the whole product's life-cycle even through the many complaints posted in this forum. Since I replaced the Intel 4965 AGN Wi-Fi-N with a Broadcom BCM4321 I no longer had a single issue no BSODs, stable DPC latencies even under heavy usage, any dropouts and strong signal even at the same distances the Intel 7260 is failing. I would like to think that I will not have to replace the card inside this new (less than 5 months) laptop as this experience is really mediocre...

Today I had to download some ftp files and I ended up using Ethernet because of the continuous dropouts. I wonder what kind of "testing" this product ran trough before entering mass production so that this extremely pronounced issue did not show up. At least you could provide a detailed ETA with technical explanations so that I could plan what to with this device. It is really annoying having spent 1500$ on a new machine and not having a single explanation on whether or not Intel will one day decide to dedicate enough resources on customer support. These are the kind of things that are damaging the PC industry. People do expect a minimum quality control from a company with such a big amount of resources.

fjtorsolIt's not just Intel who had these problems. I remember when customers had issues on their new 2013 MacBook airs with the Broadcom 802.11ac chip. However, unlike Intel, Apple were quick to come up with a fix and solved the wifi issues for 99% of users. Then again, Apple controls hardware while Intel doesn't. Intel's drivers work perfectly on a lot of configurations but left problems on other configurations. One such case is my primary laptop with the OEM equipped dual band 7260N which doesn't exhibit connection problems since the 16.8.0.6 drivers while my other laptop with the 7260AC upgrade didn't fare well regardless of any drivers from Intel. Also, other laptops that originally came with 7260 has wifi problems as well but not all configurations are affected. I guess this is just the nature of PC hardware and Windows OS/Linux.

Then we go back to the testing phase if Intel tests a given configuration with specific parameters then they can not claim it will work with any system configuration they just have to write a proper specification sheet establishing perfectly defined and limiting conditions. As you say the PC industry is much more complex therefore the need for proper standards and well defined specifications that ensure a modular system where things match. One can not create a pci-e device that only works with a specific power management routine and then sell it like it will work on anything.

I have installed the latest wireless drivers (17.0.3.2) and still I get the same issue. If I sleep the laptop while it is connected to a certain network and then resume it I am not able to connect to such network again. I have to disable and enable the adapter in order to be able to connect again. I have recently replaced my router so it is clearly not a router issue. If you want me to provide some additional system information in order to diagnose the issue more accurately or debug in similar test hardware please ask for what you want.

After downgrading Intel Smart Connect to version 4.2.41.2499 the issue is apparently gone. The wireless card has since gone trough many successive sleep/resume cycles without problems. I have tested this with Intel wireless driver version 17.0.3.2 and I am currently testing the recently released version 17.0.5.8 with no problems so far. I will update the post if the problem appears again.

Please check with your system manufacturer regarding driver version 17.13.x and make sure the option “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” is enabled in the Power Management tab of the wireless adapter properties in Device Manager.